STALLED:
Donald Trump has indicated a willingness to discuss the sale with Xi Jinping, raising concern that Taiwan’s defense needs would become part of broader negotiations
By Chen Cheng-liang and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
US senators have reportedly urged US President Donald Trump to move ahead with a Taiwan arms sale package that has been delayed ahead of his upcoming visit to China. Trump is scheduled to visit China from tomorrow through Friday, during which he is expected to hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). A proposed US$14 billion arms package for Taiwan — the framework of which Trump approved last year — has been stalled ahead of the meeting. The New York Times yesterday reported that US officials familiar with the approval process said the White House had paused the arms package in part to avoid disrupting Trump’s upcoming meeting with Xi.
The US national flag, left, and the Taiwanese national flag are pictured in Taipei in an undated photograph.
Photo: Cheng I-hwa, Bloomberg
In a letter cited by the newspaper that it said was sent on Friday last week, a group of eight bipartisan senators urged Trump to reaffirm the US’ commitment to Taiwan ahead of the summit, adding that Washington’s support for the nation should remain “inviolable.”The lawmakers also warned against allowing Taiwan to be used as leverage in wider economic or diplomatic negotiations with Beijing.
“American support for Taiwan is not up for negotiation,” they were quoted as saying in the letter. Referring to the special defense budget bill passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week, the senators were quoted as saying that the vote showed a positive response to calls for Taipei to increase its own military spending.“Just as Taiwan’s leaders demonstrated unity in support of their people’s defense, so too must we move ahead with pending US arms sales vital to our own national interests,” they were quoted as saying. The New York Times article reported that “while support for Taiwan has long had strong backing in Congress, lawmakers in both parties have grown uneasy in Mr Trump’s second term over what some say are mixed signals from the White House.”A report by CBS News on Sunday said that Taiwan remains Xi’s central focus for the summit despite wider geopolitical tensions. CBS reported that Trump has indicated a willingness to discuss the US$14 billion package with Xi, raising concern in Taipei that Taiwan’s defense needs could become part of broader US-China negotiations. CBS also reported that Beijing is pressing Washington to shift its official wording on Taiwan from “not supporting Taiwan independence” to the stronger formulation of “opposing Taiwan independence.”Analysts cited in the report said that even subtle changes in diplomatic language could have significant implications for Taiwan’s security, as Beijing continues to describe “reunification” as “inevitable” and has not ruled out the use of force. The report said that there are concerns in Taiwan that Trump could soften US support in exchange for trade concessions or broader cooperation with Beijing, and cited remarks by Trump that Taiwan’s future was “up to” Xi, although he has also said he would be “very unhappy” if China changed the “status quo” by force. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Chen Ming-chi (陳明祺), speaking to CBS, said he was not concerned that the US would abandon Taiwan, describing Washington as Taiwan’s “most reliable partner.”Chen said Taiwan produces about 90 percent of the world’s advanced semiconductors, making Taiwan-US cooperation mutually beneficial. He added that Taiwanese overwhelmingly reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” model, saying China’s 2019 crackdown in Hong Kong had fundamentally shaped the public’s attitude toward the Chinese Communist Party.“Taiwanese have never lived under Chinese Communist Party rule, even for one day,” Chen said, adding that democracy is deeply valued in Taiwan.